Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I love soup. Always have. Always will. Anytime of the year!
This recipe sounds really good. Cannot wait to try it.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Makes 8 (1 cup) servings

1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary leaves, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 teaspoons butter, divided
8-ounce package mushrooms, sliced
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup flour
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen pearl onions
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
8 thin bread slices
1 teaspoon oil

1. Mix rosemary, thyme and garlic powder in small bowl. Reserve 1/2 teaspoon. Heat 1 teaspoon of the butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add mushrooms, carrots and remaining seasoning mixture; cook and stir 3 minutes. Remove from saucepan. Set aside. Melt remaining 3 teaspoons butter in saucepan on medium heat, stirring to release browned bits from bottom of skillet. Sprinkle with flour; cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until flour is lightly browned.
2. Gradually stir in broth until well blended. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Add vegetable mixture, chicken, pearl onions and peas; simmer 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
3. Heat oven to 350F. Cut bread into rounds with 3-inch cookie cutter. Place on baking sheet. Brush bread with oil and sprinkle with reserved seasoning mixture. Bake 10 minutes or until toasted.
4, To serve soup, ladle into soup bowls and top each with 1 crouton.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: Calories: 211, Fat: 7 g, Carbohydrates: 21 g, Cholesterol: 42 mg, Sodium: 469 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Protein: 16 g

This recipe was developed by McCormick.

Thai Beef with Chiles and Basil Over Coconut Rice

Thai Beef with Chiles and Basil Over Coconut Rice

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This was delicious and super easy. Enjoy! From Martha Stewart.
Serves 6

1 1/4 cups jasmine rice
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 long hot peppers or red jalapeno chiles, seeded and sliced into 2-inch matchsticks
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1 cup loosely packed torn fresh basil leaves
Lime wedges, for serving
Directions
1.In a medium saucepan, combine rice, coconut milk, 3/4 cup water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 25 minutes.
2.When rice is almost done, combine fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl; set aside. Heat a cast-iron skillet or wok over high. Add oil and heat; add garlic and half the chiles. Cook, stirring constantly, 15 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until completely browned, about 4 minutes. Add soy mixture and cook 30 seconds. Add basil and remaining chiles and stir to combine. Serve beef over coconut rice with lime wedges.

Baked mac & cheese

Baked Mac & Cheese
from Gramma Jane
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni
6T butter, divided
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 cups milk
8 oz of Velveeta (this melts the easiest)
1 1/3 cups small curd cottage cheese
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Cook Macaroni noodles, according to directions, and drain. 
Place in greased*, 2 1/2 qt baking dish. 
In saucepan, melt 4 tbl. Butter, stir in Flour, Sugar, Salt until smooth. 
Gradually stir in Milk- bring to boil; cook & stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened. 
Reduce heat-stir in Velveeta til melted**. 
Stir in Cottage Cheese and Sour Cream. 
Pour this over Mac Noodles and sprinkle with Shredded Cheddar. 
Bake uncovered 30 min. @ 350 degrees.
* I grease the sides with a half of stick, or a whole stick of butter. It works a million times better than Pam or any other cooking spray.
** I strongly recommend cubing the Velveeta. It makes the melting process go a lot quicker and you don’t burn the bottom of the pan this way.
Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

Thank you Heather (Monique's daughter)

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
from Maxine Curtis (Lin's grandma)

Ingredients:
1 Pillsbury Pie Crust package (has 2 in it)
Corn
Carrots
Green Beans
Lima Beans
Peas
Potatoes *
2-4 Chicken breasts boiled & cubed**
1 cream of celery soup
1-2 cream of chicken soup ***
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix all of it together, place in pie pan, cover in foil, bake 45 minutes on 350, then remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
* If I'm feeling lazy I use a huge can of mixed veggies, but we have also used fresh or frozen vegetables.  If they are frozen, I'd recommend placing them in their defrosted but not cooked so as to not make them mushy.
** I use 3 large chicken breasts for Curty & I; we love lots of chicken in it, 
***The recipe calls for 2 cans, but honestly, I find that 1 cream of celery & 1 cream of chicken is plenty.

Best Ever Country Ribs

So, my husband wanted to make something different (like he normally does). He found this recipe for country ribs at food.com. They were fantastic. He did make a few changes, which I will point out after the recipe.

Ingredients:Servings:
8 Servings Size

2 tablespoons dry rub seasonings, recipe follows (I usually use a little more)
4 lbs country-style pork ribs (I prefer bone-in, but you could use boneless)
3 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups beer (beer is better) or 1 1/2 cups water (beer is better)
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared mustard (such as French's yellow mustard)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark, doesn't matter)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 1 1/4 hr
1 Rub Dry Rub all over ribs. Place in a glass baking dish; cover and refrigerate several hours or, even better, overnight. 2 Stir together ketchup, beer (or water), vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, brown sugar (add more, if you like your sauce sweeter), oregano, basil, thyme, and pepper in a medium-size bowl. 3 Transfer ribs to a 5-quart Dutch oven. Reserve 1 cup sauce for basting later; pour remainder over ribs. Cover pot and cook the ribs over low heat for about 45 minutes or until ribs are tender. (Ribs may be prepared up to a day ahead and refrigerated.). 4 Prepare grill or heat broiler. Remove ribs from sauce; discard sauce. Spread ribs with half the reserved sauce. 5 Cook ribs over medium coals (or medium direct heat on a gas grill) or broil until crispy and browned, about 5 minutes. Turn ribs over. Spread with remaining sauce. Cook 5 minutes more. 6 DRY RUB for COUNTRY-STYLE RIBS: Combine 2 tablespoons salt, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons dried lemon peel (found in the spice section of your supermarket), 3 tablespoons black pepper, and 1 tablespoon paprika in a small bowl. Store unused dry rub in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Changes: After cooking the ribs in the pot, he added some lime juice and let it cook a little longer. The lime juice actually penetrated the ribs even with the short cooking time.
Also, he did not grill the ribs, as he didn't want them to be too dry.

Try it. Let me know what you think.